


You Can Have It All (when you're 30)

by WritingYay



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Dating, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, First Dates, Fluff, Good sister Vic, Happy Ending, Humour, Misunderstandings, Multiple chapters, Other, Separated Robert and Aaron, Vic doesn't give a damn, Vic makes me laugh, protective!aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-29
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-12-21 11:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11943018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingYay/pseuds/WritingYay
Summary: As romance blossoms within the realms of the youth community, our boys come together to seek the truth and protect their girl.Or:In which Liv starts dating and the boys don't know what to do with themselves.





	1. Don't EVER look at a teenager's phone.

Robert really tries to not read into Liv's happy smirk at the breakfast table as her phone vibrates in quick succession with incoming messages, he really does. But with all of the crap crashing into her young world as of late, it's almost impossible for Robert to not wonder what has made his devil of a stepdaughter so excited.

Or, smitten.

So when Liv escapes from the table with the last piece of toast and her phone slipped into the pocket of her duffel coat hanging from the back of the chair, Robert really tries to ignore the nosy urges encouraging him to peek. He really, really does.

He supposes it's completely his fault- karma, even- that he discovers something he didn't want to. Because when he turns on Liv's phone to find three unread messages from 'Sam'- love heart and all- he feels like his world is exploding around him.

-

"Maybe Sam is short for Samantha?" Vic tries to reason with him when she pops round the B&B with a lasagne to keep her brother alive. Robert snorts and shakes his head from his position reclined at the reception desk. 

"I'm old acquaintances with one of the teacher's brothers so I asked him to do some digging for me. Liv and Gabby hang round with this Sam bloke all the time." 

Vic just sighs and plonks the warm lasagne dish down next to Robert's shoulder- hard.

"So? They could just be friends." She argues and dutifully ignores Robert's annoyed glare. "One love heart doesn't mean future wedding bells."

Robert's eyes actually widen. "They are dating Victoria, I'm sure of it."

"Have you actually asked her?" Vic raises her eyebrows.

"So she can realise I looked at her phone? No way." He scoffs and grabs his phone when it beeps- ugh, Nicola.

"Well this is obviously bothering you." His sister concludes and straightens her scarf to leave. "Talk to Aaron."

Robert immediately tenses at the mention of his ex-husband's name. They only talk nowadays to sort out Liv, the scrapyard, the house or legal documents. A divorce would be the next logical step but it seems that neither of them have the confidence.

"He's on a business trip for a couple of days, that's why Liv's here. I'll talk to him when he gets back." Robert knows his voice sounds pathetic but he can't bring himself to care.

"Make sure you do." Vic warns him. "Otherwise you'll continue to work yourself up into a frenzy and then it will turn out that's she not actually going out with him after all."

"I can't believe she hasn't told me." He pouts and dramatically slumps down onto the desk again. 

Vic laughs and stuffs her hands in her pockets to escape the Autumn chill. 

"You really think she'd tell you?" 

Robert groans loudly and smacks his head into his palms. "I'm an awful father."

Vic giggles and pats her brother's head patronisingly. "You poor, naïve idiot." 

-

"SHE'S WHAT?" Aaron bellows as Robert frantically shushes him as various shocked villagers spin round in their seats to stare at them. The pub was uncharacteristically busy for a Wednesday afternoon, hence Robert's logic. If Aaron went to strangle him, there would be multiple helpful souls who could help pry him off.

"I know, but calm down." Robert hisses and tries to smile at the confused people in an attempt to calm them as well. Kerry just rolls her eyes and goes to whisper something in Dan's ear. "I haven't asked her outright yet but it's pretty obvious. She won't stop smiling when they're texting and a source at her school says they're inseparable." 

There's something animalistic glinting in Aaron's eyes and Robert would be terrified if he hadn't been married to the guy.

"How did you find out?" 

Robert shrugs. There's no use lying to Aaron, he reads the other man like a book.

"I looked at her phone." 

Aaron snorts. "Course you did." 

With a frown, Robert leans back in his chair and grips his pint harder. "I was just looking out for her. Thank god I did, because there's a little rat out there somewhere who has the decency to call himself the boyfriend of your little sister! We don't even know who he is!"

A low growl erupts from deep in Aaron's chest. "I'll kill him." 

Robert blinks. "Aaron, he's sixteen." 

Aaron blinks back. "Not what you were suggesting?" 

The older man rolls his eyes so hard, he glimpses his brain. "Of course not." 

There used to be times when conversations between the two men didn't end in arguments. Robert misses those times.

"We need to find out if they're actually dating first." Robert orders and ticks the objectives off on his fingers. Chas is watching them from the bar- she knows something is going on. "Then, we need to find out who this guy is and make sure he knows what will happen to him if he doesn't treat Liv right. You in?" 

Aaron's hard eyes bore a hole in Robert's face. "She's all I have left, Robert. Of course I'm in." 

Robert knows that shouldn't hurt as much as it does. 

-

"Out with it." 

Robert actually jumps at the voice whilst Aaron does his best to conceal his startle. Liv stands in the kitchen doorway of the Mill in running gear. It's hers and Gabby's latest obsession, one that Robert and Bernice have bets on to see how long it lasts. Robert says two weeks. Bernice says three days.

"Huh?" Aaron asks, tiredness radiating from him in plumes. Robert noticed it the minute he stepped in the door and keeps having to bite his tongue to stop himself from mentioning it. After all, Aaron's not his problem anymore. He knows that shouldn't hurt as much as it does, either.

"You two are plotting something." Liv accuses and leans a hip against the frame. "Something that I'm 90% sure involves me." 

"We're sorting out bills." Aaron snorts and waves his hand over the mess of the kitchen table. "Some legal stuff needs doing, that's all. Calm yourself." 

Obviously, that was only half true. Robert was supposed to be there for the bills, but secretly they had been planning how to bring up Liv's secret boyfriend and then how to find him. So far they'd just disagreed on how to bring it up and Robert was getting increasingly irritated.

Liv just frowns deeper and went to uncross her arms. "Okay." 

"You, are too nosy for your own good." Robert teases her and offers the teenager a small smile which gets returned. "One of these days-"

A sharp knock at the door erupts the trio out of their little bubble; Aaron looks up in confusion as Liv shrugs with a: "I'll go." 

Aaron and Robert lapse into silence as Liv moves to open the door. From where Robert was leaning, he immediately saw Liv's eyes widen and his heart sank.

"Sam!" 

Aaron's head shot up.

"What are you doing here?" Liv hisses as her figure blocked the doorway. "I mean, um..." 

It was too late for her however, as no sooner had the words left her lips, Aaron loomed up behind her- arms crossed, eyes dark and voice deep with trembling anger.

"And who the fuck, is this?"


	2. Regret, so full of regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All I want is for them all to be happy.

[One month previously]

Sam (legally) couldn't drive. He hadn't passed his practical driving test, didn't have the right insurance and Liv most definitely didn't qualify as a legal passenger in his learner car. However, that didn't stop them from ripping up the roads from Emmerdale to Hotten and almost into Leeds for hours and hours, singing along at the top of their voices to old classics and Disney songs.

"Have you told your brother about us yet?" The question tumbled from Sam's lips like a waterfall halfway through 'Circle of Life', snapping Liv out of her Lion King daze rudely.

"Not yet?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Why did Sam care? "He's going through some things with his ex so it's not a good time yet." 

Sam just grunted in reply and busied himself with turning left so he couldn't meet Liv's glare.

"Right, because introducing me to your family would make us serious." 

There was a clear hesitation to her boyfriend's mutter that sent a spasm of pain through her stomach. Sam didn't want serious- he, fuck, he didn't want Liv-

"That a bad thing?" 

"I don't know? Do you think it's a bad thing?"

Liv rolled her eyes to mask the panic rising to her throat. "I asked you, dumbass." 

A smirk bounced to Sam's lips; his hand coming up to smooth through his hair as they ground to a halt in a traffic light queue.

"Calm down Liv, Jesus. I'm not asking you to move in with me. Chill." 

She exhaled sharply and twisted round in her seat so she could read Sam's expressions. "Introducing you to my brother does not change anything. Unless- unless you want it to?" Please say yes.

"No!" Sam snapped before plastering a smile onto his features. Tendrils of blonde hair fell into his eyes as his muscly arms crossed over his seatbelt like a shield. "I mean, we're good where we are, yeah?"

"Yeah." Liv laughed and sighed in an attempt to look relieved. It took all of her willpower to bury those stupid second-guesses into her locked mind palace box. Bloody Sherlock. "Course. Just checking." 

Trees whizzed past the window- diegetic to Sam turning up the music to accommodate for The Killers to come on.

It hit Liv all at once.

It was a crap time to realise it really, gliding carefully around a roundabout whilst trying to look natural in order not to attract unwanted attention from a conveniently placed police car trailing them. Her chest squeezed uncomfortably, but it wasn't followed by pain but by a joyful nausea that released butterflies into her abdomen. As she pressed her back further into the seat, Sam's lyrics drowned out by the music, a sense of peace and belonging settled and she nearly screamed.

Because as they sped through endless countryside, singing along to Mr Brightside without a care in the world, was the exact moment that Liv realised that she was in love. She loved the ridiculous, good-hearted and gorgeous young man sat beside her with his hands at ten-to-two and with hateful realisation, Sam obviously did not love her back.

Never in her life had she felt so at home and so utterly distraught at the same time.

-

[Present Day]

Ironically, Sam didn't seem like the pathetic loser Robert had imagined him to be. He straightens his posture and nods carefully at Aaron; a professional and mask-like smile perched on his features.

"My name's Sam, sir. I'm Liv's boyf-"

"Friend!" Liv cuts in and waves her hands dangerously close to Aaron's face in order to distract her brother from the impending slaughter of the oblivious teenager on the doorstep. "Sam's a friend, Aaron." 

Not taking the hint, Sam raises his eyebrows and reaches out a hand to playfully shove Liv in the ribs. A murderous gleam erupts in her eyes as Aaron's eyes narrows and his hands curl into fists. 

"What the fuck is your 'friend' doing here, Olivia?" He spits, eyeing Sam up and down like a predator in the depths of the wild. The reality was that he was a 5'7" chavvy mechanic from the most eventful small village in England, but Robert wasn't going to say anything if he wanted to keep his balls.

Robert jumps in like lightening, gently moving Aaron to the side with his hip as he leans forward to shake Sam's hand and pull him into the house. Aaron splutters from his left but he ignores him and warmly smiles at Liv's (don't say it) 'boyfriend'.

"I'm Robert." 

Sam smiles back and looks between Aaron and Robert with obvious confusion.

"Liv only has one brother, right?" 

"Yeah." Robert shuffles uncomfortably from side to side, painfully aware that Liv obviously hasn't explained their situation. "Aaron and I used to be together." 

It takes a heartbeat, but the realisation does dawn on Sam's face and he stands there nodding along to Robert's breathing. "Ah, yeah sorry. Liv did say; I just forgot."

Robert shrugs. "It's fine." 

Silence settles on the room, leaving Liv looking five seconds away from genuinely throwing up. "So-"

"You and Liv are together then, yeah?" 

Aaron's snarl cuts across the room like a knife from his position banished to the side. His eyes survey Sam's clothes, and his attitude before finally making eye contact.

"Um, yeah..." The teenager replies and gives Liv a small smile. Probably: oh god help me. "We've been dating for around seven months now-"

"Seven months?!" Aaron quickly yells and turns on Robert with his finger outstretched vehemently. "You said you'd just found out?!" 

"I have!" Robert placates and holds his hands out in protection. "I didn't know they'd been going that long!" 

"Hang on!" Liv interrupts with all the epic panic of a breakdown. "You knew about this?" 

Robert scoffs. "Of course I did. You're not that subtle." 

"Plus he's been spying on you from one of your teachers." Aaron spits out without breaking his death glare with Robert. "But that's something he'd strategically forget to tell you." 

"What?" Liv shouts at the same time Sam swears and steps back.

"Fuck you!" Robert explodes. "She's not legally my problem anymore but here I am, still being the family she doesn't get with you!" 

Shock splashes onto Aaron's face before the hurt kicks in. Robert hates himself, hates how this is going but Aaron is really winding him up.

"STOP IT!" Liv suddenly explodes, the force of it literally knocking the air out of Robert's lungs. She moves to stand between them like a barrier, fury written in her eyes.

"That," Sam swallows from where he's being pointed at. "Is my boyfriend. Okay? I'm dating him, I'm with him and I lo-"

The words catch in her throat. Sam's eyes widen and Aaron makes a pained noise from her side. "I like him alright? I really, really like him." 

Aaron opens his mouth and Robert winces at the obvious shit ready to come from it, just as the door slams open to reveal an angel in the shape of his sister.

-

"I don't like him." Aaron flatly admits and eyes the couple sat whispering in the kitchen. 

Vic groans. "That's unsurprising. But c'mon Aaron, you've got to admit that he seems alright?" She twists in her seat to survey Sam. He leans closer to Liv and absent-mildly tucks a piece of stray hair behind her ear. Aaron just makes vomiting gestures.

So, Vic smacks him round the back of the head.

"Ow?" Aaron complains and cups his red ear. "What was that for?" 

"She is happy." Vic grounds out, elongating every word patronisingly. "He is nice. What is your problem?" 

Aaron glares at her. "She's my little sister, I don't want to think of anyone touching her in that way."

Vic looks disgusted as Robert groans and rolls his eyes. "Not in that way. They're probably not sexually active. It's Liv, we've had that conversation." 

"Have we?" Aaron questions confusedly.

"We've had that conversation." Robert sighs, circling the area between himself and the exhausted looking girl at the table. "Because I'm an adult." 

Clearly sensing the brewing of a typical Robert and Aaron argument, Vic swivels back around.

"You two need to get a grip, okay? Liv is dating a guy, not getting married. She'll be sensible. All you need to do, is be there for her. That's it. Even you two can manage that with your tiny brains." 

Robert had the audacity to hide his offence. Aaron paraded it freely.

"Tiny brains-?"

"Me and Sam are gonna head off." Liv interrupts again; keeping her distance far away from the sofa and between Aaron and her boyfriend. "I'm gonna go to Sam's for a bit and meet his Mum. Might as well do the family thing in one day. Get it over with." 

Vic jumps up quickly and pulls Sam into a quick hug. "So lovely to meet you babe." She croons and pats him on the cheek gently. "Sorry about those two but our family is borderline normal, promise." 

Sam laughs nervously and grabs Liv's hand to clench onto it when she holds it to him. 

"See you later." She throws over her shoulder at Aaron. Robert looks at him meaningfully when he doesn't move and looks triumphant when his ex gets up with a sigh.

"Nice to meet you." He waves at Sam before crossing his arms. "If you hurt my sister I'll treat you like I do the cars at my scrapyard. Keep that in mind, yeah?" 

Sam blanches and blinks. "Will do, um, sir." 

Liv literally pushes him out of the door and slams it behind them after Robert nods at Sam meaningfully.

"Bloody hell." Robert says and Vic agrees with a nod. 

Aaron swallows heavily. "He looks like Sebastian will when he's seventeen." 

Robert, halfway through a sip of coffee, promptly chokes and sprays it over his hand.

"Sorry?" 

"He looks like your son." Aaron shrugs, refusing to meet Robert's gaze. "Looks like you." 

Everything quickly falls into place.

"That's why you were such an arsehole to the guy?" 

Aaron wrinkles his nose distastefully. "No. It's my job not to like him. He's dating my little sister, I've got to keep him in line." 

Vic jumps up from the sofa. "No." She stands in front of Aaron, forcing him to look at her. "All of that, is her problem. That's her job, it's all up to her. Don't get involved Aaron. She won't thank you for it." 

Robert stands up beside them and places a shaky hand on his ex's shoulder. "She's right." He murmurs quietly. "You've got to let her go in this case." 

Aaron shakes his head. "We've got to let her go. She's 'your problem' too remember." 

"I remember." Robert laughs and pats Aaron graciously. 

"Well then." Vic beams. "I'm glad that's done."

"Hey, Rob?" Aaron calls when Robert moves to put his mug in the sink.

"Yeah?" 

Aaron's eyes shine with the regret of a bad idea.

"Do you think your informant can convince their teacher to sit them at opposite ends of the classroom?"

Vic picks up a magazine and rolls it into a tube. Then she advances towards her victim dangerously, ignoring the high pitched squeals of Aaron begging Robert to save him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The car bit is definitely not based on me irl, nope nope nope, definitely not.
> 
> Sorry for the stupidly long delay, so many things have happened recently, plus for the last month I've been really, really ill :( thank you, influenza A. Thank you, infected England.
> 
> Enjoy, and let me know what you thought,
> 
> Happy New Year :)

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to see Liv get a boyfriend/girlfriend soon- I think the boys would be hilarious when she starts dating!
> 
> (Vic's literally my spirit animal in this though lol, she doesn't give two shits anymore and there will be more of her to come)
> 
> When are Liv and Chas going to be back on our screens though huh?!
> 
> Anyways, hugs x


End file.
